


Not Very Subtle

by holdingthispain



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: F/F, dongie is covered in tattoos…………………… as a treat, hi., no angst no pain we going Soft, oh and dami goes by they/them, yooh works in a flower shop and dongie works in a tattoo shop across the street, yura and gahsing are already established, yura are married
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:35:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28065573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/holdingthispain/pseuds/holdingthispain
Summary: To that random guy at the park,Thank you!
Relationships: Han Dong | Handong/Kim Yoohyeon, Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Yubin | Dami, Lee Gahyeon/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 34
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> howdy hey ive returned with something soft and short and sweet 😊  
> enjoy

“You all… want me… to be your fifth wheel… again…?” Yoohyeon asked slowly to register the sentence.

“You’re not a fifth wheel, you big tree!” Her friend, Bora, rebuked. “We’re all going as a group of friends! I just happened to be married to Yubin, and Gahyeon just happened to be dating Siyeon!”

“But this is a friend outing, Yoohyeon!” Gahyeon pouted as she grabbed her hand. “Come on, it took a while to convince Siyeon to leave the house! League of Legends is taking over her life!”

“And Yubin has been working way too hard, I had to drag them out of their studio!”

“You guys…”

Yoohyeon knew they meant well. She’d been ‘the single one’ for so long at this point, it was commonplace that her best friends, Yubin and Siyeon, or their significant others right in front of her, ask to join their double date so she didn’t have to spend another day or night in her lonesome. She agreed at first, when their relationships were casual and she, Yubin and Siyeon all still lived together. Now, Siyeon and Gahyeon started living together recently and Yubin and Bora have lived together since they got married a year ago. Yoohyeon was left alone, now with her newly adopted Pomeranian, Pie, in the apartment they once shared.

Right now, Bora and Gahyeon showed up unannounced at said-apartment, already dressed in casual wear to go to the nearby pizza and arcade for their ‘friend outing’.

“Actually, you know what, I know why you don’t want to go.” Bora pulled her phone out of her back pocket, showing the taller woman her phone screen. She stared at the digital clock on the top, wallpaper of Yubin sleeping with a stuffed panda bear, and multiple notifications from Instagram, not knowing what the hell she was implying. “You’re about thirty minutes away from going to the park again to go see that girl you like!”

God damn it…

Gahyeon gasped, looking her up and down, “No wonder you’re already dressed!”

“You should talk to her!” Bora gave her a playful shove. “It’s been two months! At this point, you’re being a creep!”

“I told you guys already! She’s always busy with a sketchbook, sitting under the big tree and focused on everything else!”

“The fact that you remember this scares me very much…” Gahyeon let Yoohyeon’s hand fall out of her hold.

“She’s consistent!”

“Yoohyeon, we love you, you know that, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And with all this talk about ‘the cool girl with red hair and a lot of tattoos that likes to draw at the park’, we really encourage you to talk to her! You may or may not have a chance with her romantically, but at least you’ll for sure gain another friend!”

“I want Yoohyeon to get her sexy tattooed girlfriend!” Bora interjected. “Can you at least try talking to her?”

“Yeah.”

In her head at that same moment, she replied ‘No’.

Yoohyeon knew she had _no_ chance with her! She was just some florist! She liked to play racing games on her phone! She held long conversations with Pie like she understood her! There was no way that woman would glance at her _once_!

“Fine then, we’ll have our friend outing without you,” Bora said with an exaggerated sigh. “But! When we get back here, you better say you talked to her!”

“Okay, okay! Have fun on your double date.”

This earned a glare from Bora, but the two still hugged her goodbye and went on their way.

The brunette sighed. There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with being the only one that was single in a group of dating or married friends! Though… she didn’t _look_ lonely, did she? Oh, god no!

“Pie, do you want to go on another wa—” As she was grabbing the blue dog leash from the kitchen counter, she saw Pie was already in her little bed, curled up with one of her squeaky toys and sleeping peacefully.

She smiled and grabbed her little backpack, filled with her book and whatever other items she left in it, and left her apartment.

It was a _super_ rare occasion that Yoohyeon ever left her place just for leisure. To spend time around other people doing fun activities—kids playing and running around the park, mothers speed walking on the sidewalk, overly muscular men ambling tiredly with two or three large dogs, to name a few—wasn’t something she ever thought about doing. However, sometimes there were days where she’d want to change it up from her usual. Pie was being dogsat by Yubin and Bora when she decided to change it and, by chance and timing, the red-haired woman was there, under the biggest tree in the park, observing her surroundings and looking back and forth between the scenery and her sketchbook.

Ever since that day, on Saturday evenings, she sat at the closest bench (but not _too_ close) to her and brought a book, reading a line and then trying to look in her peripherals to admire her in little glances.

Okay, maybe it was _a little_ creepy.

She took the short bus ride to the park. It was springtime, so the weather was lovely and she chose good in wearing one of her maxi dresses. Kids filled the playground, running and laughing together while playing on the pirate ship structure. Parents were sitting on the side, either talking to other parents or taking care of their infants. It was always nice to see the place so lively!

The brunette made her way to her usual bench and, when she noticed the woman wasn’t sitting under the big tree, she pouted. She usually showed up earlier than her; At least she won’t look as creepy this time!

On her way to the bench, however, a man was heading in her direction. She didn’t think much about him, assuming he was just going to walk by her, but then he spoke to her, “Excuse me?”

“Yes?” She stopped for him, putting on the same friendly smile and tone she took on when working at the flower shop.

“I saw you last Saturday and I think you’re really pretty! I took a chance to come back and see if you’d be here. I was just wondering if we could talk for a bit…?”

Yoohyeon couldn’t lie—he was very handsome and seemed sweet. She felt a little guilty that she was going to have to reject him.

“Thank you…” It trailed off, beginning to become unable to say she wasn’t interested. He was still smiling hopefully, which was _not_ helping. She was really considering _not_ saying no.

“Hey babe, I’m so sorry I’m late!”

The voice alarmed Yoohyeon, freezing her until red hair ran from behind the man and to her side, grabbing her hand.

No fucking way…

“I—It’s okay!” Her head was spinning, wanting to pinch herself and check she wasn’t dreaming. The artsy woman was next to her, _holding her hand_ _and calling her ‘babe’_ …

“I got caught up in something; I hope you weren’t waiting long.” She then turned to him. “May I help you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know!” The man was genuinely apologetic, bowing as he continued to say sorry.

“It’s fine!” She squeezed Yoohyeon’s hand. “I understand; She’s very beautiful.”

She might pass out.

“You two have a nice day!”

The two women watched him scurry away. Yoohyeon was relieved he was nice, but now she was internally freaking out. The person she’d been admiring for two months called her babe, was holding her hand, and said she was beautiful… She could die happily now!

“Thanks for that…” Yoohyeon said, feeling heat crawling along her neck and cheeks.

“You didn’t look comfortable to me and I thought you needed some help. Unless, you actually liked him! Then, I’m sorry I assumed—”

Yoohyeon squeezed her hand tighter than she intended. “I nearly said yes to him out of guilt. Thank you for saving me!”

“No problem… Do you want to stay with me? In case another guy decides he wants to talk to you? I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable or even unsafe if you want to stay here.”

The brunette wanted to slap herself so hard right now to wake up from this dream. It was too good to be true!

She couldn’t stop her giggle, smiling along with her eyes turning into crescent moons, and said, “Yeah!”

The beautiful artist smiled almost as big and took her to the big tree, sitting in the shade next to the large trunk.

“U—Um, are we going to keep acting like girlfriends?”

Why did she ask that…?

“No,” she replied bluntly. “But we may look like it to others anyway. Can I ask you something?”

“Sure!”

“Can I draw you?”

She froze, wide eyed and mind going blank. “Huh?”

“Can I draw you?” She smirked as she slipped out of Yoohyeon’s hold. “I didn’t say you were beautiful for nothing.”

Yoohyeon.exe… fucking _fried…_

“O—Okay.” Stop stuttering! “Just tell me how you… want me to be.”

“You can sit against the tree and read your book. I’ll sit over here. What were you planning on doing in the park today?”

“Just read, that’s all. Didn’t want to stay home, but I didn’t want to go out with friends, so I’m here.”

“Lovely,” she replied.

Yoohyeon did so, pressing her back into the dark brown tree trunk and placed her backpack against her side, pulling her book from it. She kept her legs straight and felt nervous as the woman started walking from side to side, eyeing her as she tried to find her nice side. She ended up with Yoohyeon’s left. Sitting some feet away from her, she took her hardcover sketchbook out from her bag and flipped it open, observing her a little longer.

“So…” Yoohyeon drawled as she opened her book to where she last left off.

“So…?” The woman responded, smiling teasingly as she took her pencil case out.

Her brain short-circuited then, very much acknowledging how deep her voice became. Her eyes began tracing her form, following every tattoo on her body that she could see. It was warm, so she was dressed in a tank top and short shorts.

Her tattoos were colorful and it was clear she loved the sky. Her right arm sleeve was a variation of the sky in different points of the day. A glowing moon was on the right side of her neck, then gradually going down, it started black with glittering stars, blending into a gentle purple color, then into pink, then into blue, with clouds scattered all throughout, stopping at her wrist.

The ones on her chest and leg were different from her arm. There was a gray cat head right in the middle of her chest, but because of her tank top, the nose and mouth were covered, making it look like the cat was peeking out from her shirt. Then, she saw before she sat down that she had a big, realistic skull in a Victorian-style picture frame on her right thigh.

“Yoohyeon…” The brunette muttered absentmindedly.

“I’m Handong, actually.”

“Uh—I mean—my name’s Yoohyeon!” She was still short-circuiting. “Nice to meet you, Handong. You have a nice name.”

“Thank you, so do you.”

“Am I allowed to move?”

“I got the rough sketch from when you were staring at me, so, yes, you’re allowed to move. You’re reading, after all.”

Yoohyeon was just adding more and more to the embarrassment pile. She didn’t want to stay in silence either.

“Do you draw here every day?” Yoohyeon asked.

“Just on the weekends. Evening time is the best time to get the best scenery. But, I do like going to that big fountain too, drawing the ducks and feeding them oats.”

“I’ve never fed birds before.”

“It’s pleasant; You should try it sometime.”

Back to only the sounds of laughing children and other distant conversations. Yoohyeon wasn’t exactly relaxed, but she slowly read through her book, turning the pages. Her mind was still racing, occasionally glancing up at Handong.

“So…”

“So…?”

“Are you always going to repeat me?”

Handong only chuckled in response.

The brunette did the same, then sharing eye contact and shy smiles together. “Are you new to the city?”

“Been here for three months,” Handong said, looking down at her book again. “Moved from a different state and felt I needed some freedom. I like it here! It’s really pretty; I just want to draw everything.”

“Freelance artist?”

“Tattoo artist. I work at Full Moon Ink.”

“Oh! I know that place!”

It was a while ago, but she, Siyeon and Yubin all got tattoos together at that exact shop. Then, Yoohyeon went on her own for a couple more. The artists inside were incredibly nice and super talented! With that in mind, now she was deeply curious of the sketch Handong was doing of her.

“Oh, you have tattoos?” Her eyes looked down at her feet then up to her face again.

“A few! I really want a sleeve too!”

“Well, in the future, you can give me a call when you want to start that.”

Yoohyeon chuckled, “I’d need your number then—”

Handong looked at her with an amused smirk, clearly trying to not laugh at her.

“You meant call the parlor…” The brunette mentally slapped herself, returning to her book.

“What do you do then? Librarian?”

“Ha ha.” Yoohyeon rolled her eyes. “Florist. Work at Daybreak across the street from Full Moon.”

“I walk in there sometimes! The flowers are so healthy and bright; They really help me whenever my clients want flowers.” Handong then hummed, beginning to shade on her sketch. “How come I’ve never seen you there?”

“I don’t know. I’m there every day. Maybe you see Minji instead? We switch at lunch for a bit.”

“That explains it—that’s when I go.”

“I could switch shifts next time! We could meet each other then?”

“If I’m not busy.”

There was silence between them now, but it was _immensely_ more comfortable. Yoohyeon could actually focus on her book and was able to get through a chapter. (Though, of course, she was still trying to catch sneakier glimpses of Handong.)

Before she knew it, she was squinting to read her book.

It was already sunset.

“It’s late; We should probably stop.” Handong said while squinting at the sky.

“Are you done now?” Yoohyeon shut her book.

“Pretty much! Done or not, I can’t draw you anymore if the lighting isn’t good.”

“Can I see?”

Handong nodded and stood up, sitting next to her instead.

Yoohyeon expected something phenomenal, but not something like _this._

It was like she stuck a black and white photograph into her book! She was able to capture her features _exactly_ , looking down at her novel. She captured the outward peacefulness of the moment, her eyes looking down, pausing as she was turning the page. She even drew out most of the little white polka dots on her dress! Sunlight graced her from the little holes through the grown leaves of the tree, just in the right places. The tree bark and background were still only rough lines for detail later, but the overall artwork was _astonishing_.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it!” Yoohyeon squealed, leaning in closer to see it better. “I’ve honestly never been drawn before! At least, not in a serious way.” She still couldn’t forget how Bora drew her one time while she was taking a nap. “You’re an incredible artist!”

“Thank you very much.” Handong said, closing the book. “And you’re a great model.”

Yoohyeon’s cheeks flushed, warm and at least light pink.

“Well, it’s getting late,” Handong said, looking at her phone screen. “I better get home; My cat probably misses me.”

“You have a cat?” She asked, beaming at her.

“Yeah! His name's Nannan. He’s my little baby.”

“I have a pet too! A dog! Her name’s Sapphire, but I just call her Pie.”

Handong smiled, chortling, “Cute.”

The way she said it. The way her eyes glimmered. The way her smile grew bigger.

Something told Yoohyeon that she wasn’t referring to her dog. (That was what she wanted to believe, anyway.)

“It was nice spending time with you.” Yoohyeon stood up from the ground and dusted off her dress, pulling her backpack onto her shoulders. She then hastily added, “And for your protection!”

Handong just laughed again, organizing her bag.

The brunette didn’t feel like leaving yet. The two women stood in place for a moment, just smiling and fidgeting in their places. She wanted to ask for her number or say she should try to come by the flower shop to see her, but she embarrassed herself enough!

“I better get going!” Handong took a step back, awkwardly chuckling afterwards. “I’ll see you around.”

“Okay, yeah! Bye, see you around, Handong!”

She was waving her hand dumbly until the red-haired woman turned around, then slumping her shoulders and letting her arms and head hang loosely.

It was just _one_ question!

* * *

When Yoohyeon returned to her apartment, she only expected Pie to run up to her when she opened the door.

Nearly had a damn heart attack when she saw people sitting on her couch, greeting her loudly. Bora especially, but they all joined in on the special welcome.

“Hey Yoohyeon!” Siyeon waved at her from her seat. “How was the park? You were there for a while!”

“Well,” Yoohyeon started mindlessly doing tasks, taking her shoes off and searching through her refrigerator, “when I got there, this guy tried to talk to me and, I have to say, he was cute, but I wasn’t there to find a boyfriend! I nearly said yes to him to chat when that girl, the one I like and you guys won’t stop teasing me about, came up to me and held my hand! She called me babe and very beautiful to save me from him! Then, she said I could just be with her, so I wouldn't be uncomfortable! She drew me whi…”

Oh shit.

She grinned sheepishly as she grabbed her bottle of orange juice, turning around to be met with her friends’ shocked expressions, eyes so wide they’ll pop out of their heads and jaws to the floor.

“We leave you alone,” Bora jumped from her seat on the couch, glaring at her, “for three hours and, all of a sudden, you have a girlfriend!”

“She’s not my girlfriend! Handong was just protecting me!”

“You know her name!”

“Well yeah! She was drawing me! We weren’t going to sit in silence—”

“Yoohyeon, admit it, you were girlfriends for three hours.”

“We weren’t girlfriends!” Yoohyeon whined, sitting in between Siyeon and Yubin. Pie, who was on Siyeon’s lap, went onto hers. “She was just looking out for—Don’t look at me like that!”

The four around her were just smiling and laughing at her, leaving her to pout and sip on her orange juice.

They’ll _never_ let her live it down for not getting her number!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see yall on friday or saturday!


	2. Chapter 2

“Minji, you wouldn’t make fun of me, right?”

“Depends!”

“Oh.”

Saturday night, Yoohyeon was grilled to hell by her friends regarding her artist crush, not even having to tell them that she was a nervous  _ wreck _ of a human while interacting with Handong. She was used to it, so it didn’t matter…

But she needed  _ someone _ to talk to!

“What’s on your mind?” Minji asked as she placed a little potted cactus on the cashier counter. Her pink-haired boss was very kind and they had grown close over the four years she’d worked there. There were moments she confided in Minji with any problems she had if she felt she couldn’t wait (or want) to talk to any of the four. She was grateful for all the times the older woman took her out for dinner or drinks at the bar (and took her home because Yoohyeon could  _ not _ handle her alcohol well) to help her feel better.

“Does a beautiful red-haired woman covered in tattoos come here sometimes?”

“Yeah! She doesn’t say much, usually just a greeting. All she really does is admire everything. Why do you ask?”

Yoohyeon awkwardly chuckled, tapping her pen against her delivery forms. “I’ve been seeing her—er, I was admiring her—for a couple months at the park. It’s a long story, but we spent a few hours together yesterday and I was hoping… maybe—”

“Do you want to work during lunch today?” She asked with a warm smile.

“If you don’t mind. I couldn’t ask for her number and I want to try to grow closer to her!”

“I don’t mind at all!” She then giggled. “You must really like her.”

“She’s so interesting and kind of mysterious… My friends have been wanting me to talk to her ever since I mentioned her!”

“Do you think she likes you?”

“I think she was flirting with me yesterday,” Yoohyeon felt the corners of her mouth twitch. She then groaned, nearly slamming her forehead into the table. “I’m just a wreck!”

“You’ll be fine, Yoohyeon! Even if you are a wreck, it sounds like she’s showing interest!”  Minji looked down at her watch, then smiled her signature bright, sunshine-like grin. “Well, it’s lunchtime! We’ll switch in half an hour, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you again, Minji!”

“It’s no problem, Yoohyeon.”

When the pink-haired woman left, Yoohyeon didn’t know what to do. Any smooth one-liners or even just  _ normal greetings _ were jumbled in her brain. She stayed in place, staring blankly at her forms with her pen hovering over an empty line. She _should_ be filling them out, but she just couldn't! She kept her eyes down, because the moment she’d see her, her mind would become mush.

No thoughts. Head empty.

The shop’s door bell chimed, causing her to freeze.

However, she said her automatic greeting that was burned into her memory, “Hi, welcome!”

“I see you’re here today.”

She looked up and Handong was standing on the other side of the counter, red-dyed hair left in waves, her tattoos out again from wearing a tank top, and the cockiest smirk was on her lips. Those… soft-looking… pink-glossed lips—

“Yoohyeon.”

“Huh?”

“I was asking how your day is so far.” She said with a little snicker at the end.

“Slow. The same as it always is! Nothing much ever really happens. Just make sure everything’s pretty.”

Handong observed her surroundings until she landed on Yoohyeon again, looking at her hands then slowly to her face, ending with a warm smile. “Everything’s in order then.”

The brunette’s cheeks burned so hot, it felt like fire was being held to them.

She did not just—

“Anyway!” She cleared her throat, fixing her stack of papers and sliding them to the side. “How’s your day been at Full Moon?”

“Just smaller works today. A lot of walk-ins. It’s usually nice while the sun is out, but when I have night shifts…” She released a heavy exhale. “I don’t even want to get into it.”

“I think I have a good idea.” A whole minute of Yoohyeon averting her eyes from time to time and Handong still by the counter, now leaning on it, she couldn’t help it, “So…”

“So…?”

Yoohyeon whined a little, chuckling through it, “Never going to let that go?”

“As long as you keep saying it, I’ll keep repeating it.”

Yoohyeon rolled her eyes. “I… Well… Numbers! Uh—”

“You wanted mine, right?”

“Yes… I really should’ve asked yesterday, but I’ve been freaking out a lot lately.”

“You really thought I meant the parlor?”

Yoohyeon wanted to scream at her yesterday-self. She was freaking the fuck out! She couldn’t think straight at all from how sudden everything was!

Handong continued, taking her phone out of her back pocket, “Let’s exchange numbers then. Afterwards, I have a question.”

The brunette’s heart rate kicked up at the sound of that sentence. She never liked that sentence, not one bit. Well, did  _ anyone _ like that sentence?!

She took her own phone out and they switched.

“Cute,” Handong said, looking at Yoohyeon’s phone case that had Pie on it.

“That’s my dog! She’s the cutest thing ever!”

It was silent as they typed their numbers into each other’s phones. Yoohyeon added a little dog emoticon at the end of her contact name, since everyone else in her life had the same in their phones.

Switching back, Handong had put a mean looking cat emoticon, making the taller woman laugh.

“What’s your question?”

“Do you like art museums?”

“Uh, sure! I’ve third or fifth wheeled when my friends want to go for dates.” She said nonchalantly. She was so used to being the ‘plus one’ to things, she could just say it without much care.

“Well, then you could be the second wheel this time.”

“The… second?”

“I saw that the Contemporary Art Museum is open on Sunday. Do you want to go together?”

Keep cool, keep cool, keep cool, keep, keep cool, KEEP COOL—

“Like… on a date?”

“I said you could be the second wheel,” her voice went deeper again, leaning closer, “didn’t I?”

Yoohyeon.exe… reboot, REBOOT—

“I’d love to, Handong… Wait, you’re not asking me because no one else wants to go with you, right? You’re not flirting to get me to say yes?”

She stood up straight, a shocked expression on her face as she gasped, holding her hand to her chest. “You figured me out already?”

Ow.

She was a little too hopeful then.

Yoohyeon chuckled, a little breathless and trying not to get her feelings hurt.

Handong then laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. She confused the taller woman, tilting her head to the side, now unsure what was happening.

“I’m just joking with you, Yoohyeon. You were the only one that came to mind.”

Yoohyeon internally sighed in relief, but then her heart sped up from how direct as hell she was. She was going to be the death of her.

“I better get back to work,” Handong said, checking her phone screen. “When do you get off?”

“Five-thirty.”

“I get off at six. Text me when you get back to your place.”

Oh, my god, Yoohyeon was  _ so _ close to losing it.

“I will! Text me when you get home too!”

“Will do. Let’s talk about the date later, yeah?”

“Y—Yeah!”

“Have a nice rest of your day, Yoohyeon.”

“You too.”

The brunette watched her leave, jaywalking across the street to Full Moon Ink, right up until she went through the dark-tinted door of the black building.

On time, Minji returned from her lunch break, unaware to what just happened in this very moment.

“Hey, did she come by?” She asked with her big grin.

“Yeah! We just talked for a little bit! Finally got her number!”

“That’s great! We could stay switched from now on, if you want to always see her!”

Yoohyeon giggled, walking around the counter to go to her lunch break. “I’d like that a lot.”

* * *

Once Yoohyeon was out of work, she went straight home. She thought about seeing Bora and Yubin or Siyeon and Gahyeon, but… they roasted her enough. She took  _ actual _ minutes to text Handong. She wanted to say the right thing, only to end up only saying that she left work and was now on the way home.

Now, she finally had time to really let that interaction  _ sink in _ .

She somehow went from staring at her from a distance to going on a date with her! She felt sorry for the guy that found her pretty, but at the same time, she really wanted to thank him for bringing her to this moment!

It wasn’t just any kind of date, it was at a museum date… Those dates were usually super romantic.

More hand holding…

She needed to focus!

She couldn’t remember the last time she was on a date… She couldn’t remember who it was with, where it was, whether or not she had a good time… Not a damn thing!

Next thing she knew, she was at her bus stop, walking into her apartment and welcomed by her fur baby bringing one of her squeaky toys to her.

Yoohyeon, keeping her cool this time, sent a casual text to Handong that she was home and tossed her phone onto her kitchen counter.

“Guess what, Pie,” Yoohyeon said, sitting down on the ground to play with her. “Mom has a date on Sunday! I haven’t gone on a date in a while! I don’t know what to wear… She makes me a mess; I don’t know how I’m going to get through this.”

To distract herself, she kept playing with Pie, tossing the squeaky burger toy for her to chase and bring back.

“I really like her… I think she likes me too! Or, she could be just one of those girls that flirts a lot because she knows she’s good at it! She did all of these pick up lines on me like me being ‘the second wheel’ and called it a date just so I’d say yes! I sure am showing her that she’s good at it! She’s too good at it to genuinely be into me… But she could be into me!”

Pie didn’t give a damn what she was saying, but she kept talking.

“God, look at me… It’s been so long since I’ve been out with someone that wasn’t one of my best friends! And I don’t feel like talking about this with any of those best friends!” Yoohyeon giggled for a second as Pie retrieved the squeaky burger and, rather than leave it in front of her, she hopped into her lap, curling in. “What if this goes great?! Then what?! Go on more dates?! Become girlfriends?! Kiss?!”

Yoohyeon jolted as her phone vibrated on the counter.

She was facing a predicament as she looked back and forth between her phone and her sleeping dog. She whispered ‘sorry’ over and over again as she moved Pie to the floor and pouted when the little puppy tried to go back.

But before she could even  _ read _ the text, Handong’s name popped up as her phone vibrated for a phone call.

Keep cool! Cool as a cucumber!

“Hello?” Yoohyeon answered, sitting down on her couch, pressing her back into the armrest and outstretching her legs across the other seats.

“Hey Yoohyeon. I know I just sent you a text, but I thought I should call instead.”

“No, it’s cool! Talking about dates should be over the phone anyway…”

“Or I just wanted to hear you.” She heard her chuckle, then the sound of a car unlocking. “I was thinking around two or three p.m. We could walk around for a couple hours and then get some dinner together?”

“You want dinner too…?”

“Or we could go at two and then get some shaved ice after, if you’re not ready for dinner yet.”

Yoohyeon had to gather her thoughts, wanting to scream at the thought of spending two hours with the sexiest woman she’d ever seen.

“Just the museum and shaved ice sounds good! However, I’d like to pay for my own admission ticket and shaved ice.”

“Not into chivalry, huh?”

“There’s no need to impress me with those kinds of things! I can pay for them myself!”

“Alright, alright. Shall I pick you up?”

Yoohyeon bit her lower lip, but it did nothing in suppressing her smile. “Yeah, I’ll text you my address. Two p.m. my place on Sunday?”

“Sounds like a plan. I'll see you tomorrow at lunch, Yoohyeon.”

“See you tomorrow! Bye.”

As soon as the call was over, she took her tokage plush and shoved her face into it, muffling her squeals.

She stopped immediately, then noticed Pie woke up and was staring at her with an annoyed glare.

Right! Cool as a cucumber! She could do that!

She didn’t need the help of her friends! Not at all!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my winter break starts on monday so ill be posting then! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mayhaps theres a small reference to another yoodong fic in here 🤔  
> enjoy!

Okay, _maybe_ she needed her friends.

Yoohyeon wasn’t one to wake up early, so when she found out it was already one p.m., she shot out of bed and threw her closet door open, grabbing her clothes from their hangers and carelessly throwing them onto her bed. Pie had made her where in sometime in the night and Yoohyeon grumbled as she carried her into her bed. The little dog was hopping around as the clothes were being thrown, presumably thinking they were playing.

“What to wear… what to wear…”

She didn’t want to overdress, but she didn’t want to underdress either. Yet, she still wanted to be herself.

She could go with a dress again… Was that overdressing? No, because it was a date, she should look nice! It was a museum too; It should be a nice outfit!

It took some digging before she found a gray overall dress and wore a yellow shirt under it.

Yeah, she’ll go with that!

She straightened her hair (she wanted to braid it, but there was just _not_ enough time) and put her usual makeup on, then grabbed a granola bar (or three) and ate them for late-breakfast, early-lunch.

“No, don’t text any of them!” She placed her phone on her couch. “… I kind of need them, though…” She sat down and grabbed it again. “Wait, no! No, I can do this!” She tossed her phone and stood up again. “Just get through this date and then tell them about it afterwards! They never asked me how to get ready for their dates or hype them up! I can do this on my own!”

Before she knew it, there was a knock on her door, scaring her and Pie.

“Okay, this is it, Pie,” Yoohyeon stuffed her phone into her small backpack, taking a deep breath. “Your future second mom… Maybe… I don’t know. Is that thinking too far ahead—never mind, it doesn’t matter!”

She opened the door and she froze, looking down from Handong’s feet to her face.

If only she was allowed to pass out right this second…

Her outfit was simple, in a black cami and high-waisted jeans with black boots, but _god_ , she looked like a million dollars.

Was that a Gucci purse…?

“Hey…” Yoohyeon greeted dumbly.

“Hey to you too.” She greeted back, flipping her red hair back to reveal her neck tattoo. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah…” She mumbled, but she didn’t move.

Handong smiled and chuckled at her, then changed expressions as she looked at the ground, “Hi!”

This snapped Yoohyeon back to reality and saw Handong kneeling down, petting Pie.

“Oh, that’s Pie!” Yoohyeon got down too, running her hand through Pie’s fur. “She likes you a lot already.”

“I like her a lot already too!” Handong giggled as the puppy licked her hand. “She’s so cute!”

Yoohyeon was entranced again, watching the beautiful woman become the cutest, looking at her with an endearing smile on her lips.

“Okay, sorry, Pie, we need to leave now. I’ll bring your mom back home safely.” Handong stood up again and her bright smile was still on her face. “You said you’re ready?”

“Yeah, let’s go!” Yoohyeon matched her joy and left her apartment. “I’m so happy to be going to this museum with you.”

“I’m happy too. Must be nice to not be the third or fifth wheel now.”

“I like being the second wheel! And I like you being the first one!”

She wasn’t sure if she was happy with how natural that came out of her. That was _so_ corny…

“Hopefully we could be those together more often.”

Please have mercy on her heart…

They left the apartment building and went to the underground garage parking. Yoohyeon only went there when Yubin drove her and Siyeon around. Now, obviously, she had to take the bus everywhere she went.

Not a complaint! She had enough for the apartment and for her and Pie’s needs!

“Which one is yours?”

“This one.”

Handong headed towards a black, sleek Rolls Royce. The taller woman slowed down her steps to let the fact that she owned such an expensive car sink in.

“Are you coming in or not?” Handong asked, already halfway into the driver’s side.

“I am! Sorry, this is such a nice car! I’m so used to the bus…”

Yoohyeon got into the passenger seat, placing her backpack on her lap, and she was hit with that distinctive new car smell and got comfortable in the beige leather seats.

“Did you buy this recently?”

“Decided to a week or two ago.”

Yoohyeon nodded, looking out the window.

She was sexy, super flirty, _and_ rich…?

Yoohyeon, if you screw this up, never leave your place ever again…

“When was the last time you’ve been to a museum?” Handong asked.

“Uh… Sometime last year? I stopped going along with my friends on their dates, since they go pretty often. My friends mean well with me being their third or fifth wheel; I’d rather not, though.”

“You’re a plus one all the time, aren’t you?”

“I just haven’t found someone I really wanted to be with yet! I mean… I di—Well, you get it!”

She hummed, then said with a teasing tone, “I don’t know; I don’t think I get it.”

She made it so obvious that she _knew_. She knew what she was thinking about. Yoohyeon practically wore her thoughts on her forehead!

She simply grumbled, though her smile couldn’t be helped right afterwards.

“Have you gone to this museum before?” She asked instead.

“I’ve been wanting to, but I wanted to find the perfect date first.”

“Okay, you’re just saying that to make me blush!”

Handong laughed and that was the end of their conversation, letting the radio’s music fill the silence.

Yoohyeon was really relieved to be a little more relaxed than before in her presence. She’ll give herself a mental pat on the back for that!

* * *

They arrived at a dark structure, quite tall and angular, all of the outside looked to be made of tinted glass windows, with an intricate silver sculpture, shiny silver rings wrapping around the figure of a thin woman in a dramatic pose, her arms reaching for the sky, in the front.

“I’m so excited!” Yoohyeon said with a big grin, walking close enough to Handong that their arms come close to touching. “You know, I’ve always been into photography as a hobby!”

“You kept your portfolio?”

“If you mean kept all of them in my camera, then yes, I did! I mostly did scenery and nature. Golden hour and all that. Did nice pictures with and for my friends too.”

“Maybe you could show me some of them after shaved ice?”

“You want to extend our date, huh?”

“A few more minutes wouldn’t hurt, right?”

“It might turn into an hour or two instead!”

Handong raised her brow and smirked at her. “And why is that…?”

The taller woman was confused by that reaction, until it _really_ sunk in her brain.

“I took a lot of pictures! Where is your mind going?!”

“It’s just too easy sometimes.” She added with a laugh and opened the door for Yoohyeon. “I’ll stop now.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Other couples, families, and even people who decided to go alone were waiting patiently in line as they walked in. It was usually so bland at the front, right next to the souvenir store with overly priced t-shirts and mugs.

“Do you do that whole pretentious art talk?” Yoohyeon asked. “Like critiquing and finding its ‘deep’ meaning?”

“I haven’t done that since art school; I hated it. I will read their plaques and admire them as they are.”

“Okay, good. I think it’d be a dealbreaker for me if you started talking like… that.”

“I’d never speak to you again if you started talking like that.”

The line went down fast and the two women paid for their ticket, walking through the glass double doors and into the first exhibit.

The first exhibit was dark, the room only lit with dim blue light from standing lamps within each of their respective installations. It started with what looked to be a living room setting, with couches, ottomans, full bookcases, and a coffee table. Upon first look, it just looked like a simple, modern living room you’d find in any upper class home, yet there was something strangely haunting about it. It felt like the middle of a chilly night, the lack of noise making breaths and heartbeats apparent, no indication of any living thing using such a room—Loneliness filled it.

Every room installation was like that. Bedrooms, family rooms, libraries, offices—filled with many items, fit to be occupied and used, yet there was nothing. Simply filled blue light, barely reaching the walking path.

“Whoa…” Yoohyeon murmured, not wanting to interrupt the intended quiet atmosphere.

Handong hummed next to her, observing her surroundings. “I read on the plaque that that was on purpose. It said it’s filled with material things meant to make us happy, but it’s almost as if it’s not enough.”

The taller woman nodded. The artist definitely captured that.

The next room was a completely different atmosphere, heading into a large open room with yellow painted walls, with various different paintings from large portraits, to long horizontal landscapes, and small paintings grouped together, then sculptures were placed around the room.

Yoohyeon was so in awe of the various styles around her that the feeling of a hand slipping onto hers and interlocking their fingers together made her jump, flinching harder than she wanted to. She turned to it and Handong looked to be nonchalant and casually admiring the artwork, all while she had managed to grab and hold her hand.

“Uh, Handong…” She felt her cheeks burn and a smile had stretched from ear to ear.

She hummed, turning to her casually and cooly.

Yoohyeon lifted their interlocked hands, not sure how to ask about it.

The red-haired woman laughed, breathy and a lot more attractive than it should be. “Don’t want to get separated, right?”

“Right…” Yoohyeon dropped their hands again. This was a date, after all. It should be like this!

“Let’s get to walking around, shall we?”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Yoohyeon to get comfortable with the handholding, just following Handong whenever she went closer to an artwork and then staying with her until she walked away to the next one.

“Yoohyeon!”

Oh, god…

Yoohyeon put on a smile and turned to the voice, finding Bora and Yubin, dressed in their best semi-formal attire with Bora holding Yubin’s arm, large grins on their faces as they approached.

Out of _any_ museum they could’ve gone to…

“Bora! Yubin! Funny seeing you here!” Yoohyeon let Handong’s hand go.

“We should be saying that to you!” Bora gave her a playful punch to her arm. “You didn’t tell us that you scored a hot date!”

Yoohyeon wanted to _scream_ right in the middle of this room. “It’s not a hot date! What are you talking about?!”

Bora chuckled, punching her arm, then turned to Handong, who was just standing by with an amused smile on her face, “You’re Handong, the cool and sexy redhead Yoohyeon talks about a lot!”

“Is that what she calls me?”

“Yup! I’m Bora and this is my partner, Yubin. We were growing very worried for her, you know? She never wanted to talk to you, because you made her all flustered with just your existence! You—”

“Okay, that’s enough!” Yoohyeon gave her a toothy grin, visibly in pain from Bora’s bluntness. “And I don’t need to tell you everything! You guys didn’t want to go to any other museum?”

“There’s a new exhibit called ‘Garden’ and I wanted to see it,” Yubin replied, their labret ring glinting in the light as they spoke. Then, they added with a teasing tone, “You guys didn’t want to go to any other museum?”

“Handong’s been wanting to go to this one and she asked me, so… here we are.”

That was a really pretty exhibit, though…

“It’s a good choice!” Yubin nodded.

“I’m glad we were able to go today. We’re almost done here. We still have shaved ice and Yoohyeon’s place to get to.”

“Ooh,” Bora cooed, wiggling her brows, “your place.”

“Just to look at my photographs and play with Pie!” Yoohyeon grabbed Handong’s hand, squeezing tightly. “Your guys’ minds…”

“You should’ve specified!” Bora gave her another punch to her arm. “We’ll let you run off then! But call us after, big tree! I want to hear all about it!”

“Fine, fine, okay, bye!” The brunette hurried off with Handong behind her.

The rest of their museum visit was quicker than earlier, due to Yoohyeon’s nervousness of coming across the couple again, or, although unrealistic, maybe even coming across Siyeon and Gahyeon too.

The world wasn’t _that_ small.

“Quite nosey friends you have, Yoohyeon,” Handong said with a laugh as they left the building.

“It’s been a while since my last date! And ignore everything Bora said, she likes to mess with me… Well, she messes with everyone, but especially me!”

“Messing with you is pretty easy. Sorry, Yoohyeon, but being called cool and sexy isn’t something I can ignore.”

“Is that your first time hearing that or something?”

“Nope, I get hit on and called sexy all the time. It made me confident. I’d like to hear it directly from you, though, not through your friend.”

Yoohyeon grumbled, so annoyed over Bora. “Let’s just go get the shaved ice already…”

“Okay, okay, I’m done teasing you, I mean it this time.”

“You mean it?”

“Yeah, you’ve had enough already.” Handong nodded and then with a smile, “I’ll tease you tomorrow.”

Yoohyeon bumped her arm into Handong’s, but her smile was there. 

It was a short car ride to the little shop, a small little blue building with a serving window and the eating area was the wooden picnic tables outside.

“You’ve been here before?” Yoohyeon asked.

“A couple times with coworkers. It’s big, though; We should share one. I really like the peach and strawberry one.”

“Let’s get that one then!”

Like at the museum, there was a sizable line in front of them. They decided on small talk regarding the museum (minus their encounter with Bora and Yubin). Agreeing it was very beautiful, Handong suggested they should definitely go to another one. Yoohyeon couldn’t deny it anymore that she wanted more dates with her!

(Of course, Yoohyeon’s cheeks burned at the thought of the many different dates they could have in the future.)

Turns out, the medium cup of shaved ice with red and orange syrup really was big, shocking Yoohyeon as the cashier girl handed it to them.

They sat at one of the picnic tables, sitting across from each other and started taking little scoops of their shared dessert.

“So…”

“So…?”

The brunette gave her wry laugh; She should’ve expected that.

“I want to know more about you.”

“What would you like to know?”

“You seem very mysterious, in a way. I want to know more about, well, you. Anything!”

“More about me… Honestly, my name is actually my full name. Coworkers told me it rolls off the tongue nicely.”

“Oh, so like Han Dong?”

“Yup!”

“Then… can I give you a nickname?”

“Depends.”

“Something like…” Yoohyeon felt heart skip, feeling a little embarrassed to suggest anything. “Maybe Dongie? Oh! Or Dongdong!”

She chuckled and nodded, “Both are good.”

“Okay, okay! Continue, Dongdong.”

“Well, I was born in China. In Wuhan. I lived there until I turned twelve, then moved here. Only child, my dad’s a successful businessman and my mom’s a fashion designer.”

“Whoa… You didn’t want to get into either of those things?”

“Kind of fashion, I guess, when I was little. Honestly, I wanted to be a musical actress until I was about eighteen.”

“You were a theatre kid?” Yoohyeon asked with an amused grin, then eating a spoonful of strawberry and peach-flavored ice.

“I was! I really wanted to be a musical star, but I did a lot of art and paint murals at the same time.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“I’ve always been a little… rebellious, at times,” Handong snickered, like she was remembering a funny memory. “I asked my parents if I could get a tattoo on my eighteenth birthday and they said no. As you can see, that didn’t stop me. I guess I have an obsession! I love tattoos and the artistry, so I decided that I wanted to be a tattoo artist instead.”

“That’s cool! Which one was your first?”

“You haven’t seen it yet. It’s a rose.”

“Where is it?”

The red-haired woman wagged her finger, shaking her head. “We’re not that close yet.”

When she winked, Yoohyeon’s brain shut down, now buzzing with a million thoughts as to _where_ this elusive tattoo was…

“I’ve slowed down,” Handong continued as if she _didn’t_ just tell a sexy secret seconds ago. “I think I’m done with my collection. Could be wrong.”

“They’re really beautiful.”

“Thank you.” She smiled, scooping some of the shaved ice. “Everything else is what you’re seeing now. I moved away for more freedom, also wanting a change of pace since everything was getting a little boring, easily got a nice apartment and job, and then we met.”

“Oh, come on, there must be more interesting things that happened for you!”

“I hate to break it to you, but that really is it,” Handong just shrugged her shoulders, ending her sentence with a chuckle. “Okay, now your turn. Tell me about you.”

“If your life is not exciting, then mine is even more! I was born here, raised here—mom, dad, older sister, older brother, and younger brother. I didn’t exactly have a plan in life. I played video games more than I focused on school! I kind of went to college, but it wasn’t for me. So, now, I’m paying those debts with my flower shop job.” Yoohyeon gave her a sheepish smile. “Hate to break it to you. That’s really it.”

Handong rolled her eyes, then returned a smile, this time a knowing one. “You have plenty of more things to tell when you show me your pictures, huh?”

“I don’t even remember what pictures I took! Everything will come running back to me and I won’t shut up!”

“Wouldn’t want you to, anyway.”

* * *

“Your puppy must really miss you when you’re out,” Handong said as Yoohyeon dug into her backpack for her key, standing in front of her apartment door.

“Oh, of course! She’s still small, so I can’t bring her to work yet. But once she’s older and more well-behaved, she could be our guard dog.”

When she opened the door, the little dog scurried over, the nails on her tiny paws clicking against the floor, and then hopped excitedly at their feet, pressing her paws onto their shins.

“Aren’t you a scary thing,” Handong said as a statement, then got on her knees, petting her and letting her lick her hands. “Perfect guard dog for a flower shop.”

Yoohyeon would’ve been okay with just smiling and watching her play with her if she hadn’t glanced at her living room and kitchen.

She wasn’t the most organized person in the world. In fact, Bora complained and scolded her for allowing it to be such a pig sty.

Well, shit… this was kind of a bad look.

“Uh, sorry about the mess…” She ended her sentence with an awkward laugh.

“No worries. I’ve seen worse.” Handong kept her attention on Pie.

The brunette started to gather all the scattered pants, shorts, and t-shirts on the floor and couch, then threw them into her room to clean later. Her room was even worse, but fortunately, Handong won’t be going anywhere near it.

She grabbed her DSLR camera and was disappointed that the battery was dead, obviously it would be since it’d been unused for quite some time. She quickly found her charger and plugged it into the wall.

Handong had since gone to the couch and had Pie on her lap, smiling widely and giggling at how excited she was.

She was never _that_ hyper with her owner!

“She really likes you!” Yoohyeon said, sitting next to her. She was hoping she was going to hop onto her lap, but she stayed with Handong. All of her attention was on her!

“She’s really cute,” she said with a chuckle, running her hands through Pie’s fur and making her ears fall back, then pop back up again. “I don’t think she’ll let me leave!”

“I don’t think so, either.” The brunette reached over to her pet, still not getting her attention. “Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve used my camera. I have to charge it a little.”

“That’s fine. Pie looks like she wants to play anyway.” She stood from the couch, placing Pie on the ground and went to the pile of toys by her dog bed. “Which one is her favorite?”

“I haven’t played tug of war with her recently! Just use one of the ropes and she’ll play.”

Handong grabbed the blue and green rope toy from the pile and sat on the ground. She waved it against the floor at first, making the little brown dog chase after it, hopping for it, only to miss. The two women laughed as Pie kept trying and trying. It was until Pie latched to the tied end that the women laughed harder. Handong playfully tugged and continued to move the rope from side to side, hearing the puppy growl.

Yoohyeon wished she had her camera, but at least she had her phone! She took it out of her backpack and sat on the ground, then decided to record a video of Handong and Pie as they kept playing. Her embarrassing laugh was also in the video, but she didn’t care. It was too cute to _not_ film.

Once Pie was off the rope, Handong stood up and started running around the apartment, looking behind her every couple of seconds to see Pie still close behind her. The little dog began to bark at her, her tiny barks echoing the small space, now bumping into Handong’s legs from how close she was.

Yeah, Yoohyeon was _definitely_ going to keep this forever.

“You filmed all of that?” Handong asked as she stopped, Pie now pressing her front paws on her leg and hopping to get lifted.

Yoohyeon nodded her head, a goofy grin from ear to ear on her face. She stopped the recording, setting her phone down. “You’re… cute.”

Handong just smiled, giggling lowly, placing the rope toy back in the pile and finally carrying Pie, sitting on the couch again.

Pat on the back for saying that steadily!

“My camera should be good enough now!” Yoohyeon stood up and went to her room, unplugging her camera, and then sat with Handong.

Now, Pie was lying down in her arms, finally exhausted from all the playing she did.

Her camera turned on with a beep and she clicked her previews, finding a candid of Siyeon and Yubin, eating at a fast food restaurant with their table covered in burger wrappers. Judging by the date and time in the corner, it was taken on Siyeon’s twentieth birthday, two hours after midnight.

Not the most flattering picture in the world. Siyeon’s cheeks were full like a chipmunk collecting acorns and Yubin was laughing their ass off next to her. Clicking to the next photo, now it was just Siyeon, cheeks fuller than the last one.

“That’s impressive,” Handong said, viewing the picture with a very puzzled but amused expression.

“She likes trying to eat things in the smallest amount of bites possible,” was all Yoohyeon could explain. “That’s Siyeon, another friend of mine. I need to save this picture, though! I’m sure her girlfriend would appreciate this!”

She clicked over some, since she took many pictures of Siyeon’s burger-filled birthday night, and it was the day they moved into the apartment, surrounded by boxes with no TV or couch.

“We lived in this place together until Yubin got married last year and Siyeon moved out a few months ago.”

“You’re all pretty close then?”

“The closest! I trust them with my life! They tend to show up unannounced, so it’s not like they’re gone forever!”

Clicking through was taking a trip down memory lane of three best friends. It wasn’t any road trip or world traveling, but they were natural moments of pure, real happiness.

“The last pictures I took were from Bora and Yubin’s wedding,” Yoohyeon hummed afterwards.

“They had a gothic-style wedding?” Handong looked at the preview window in awe.

“Oh, yeah! Yubin wanted black outfits and then Bora found this awesome Victorian-style house and got married in that! It was really fun and we all channeled our inner-vampire for it.”

Everyone got a little _too_ into it, with lots of dark, looming, creepy wedding photos and fake blood. Of course, Bora was _especially_ into it, biting just about anyone’s necks she could latch onto. Yoohyeon was rather proud of the photo of Yubin staring menacingly into the camera, with messy red hair and two different eye colors with a scar cutting through their left eye, and Bora dressed in an all-black dress with fake blood dripping out of her mouth, near Yubin's neck and looked ready to bite down.

“But, other than that, from your other pictures, you really like to capture the moment.”

“Well, I do like taking pictures of poses and looking all hot, but you can’t capture happiness like that by asking for it, you know?”

The brunette set her camera down and turned to Handong, who still had her eyes on her. Pie was deeply asleep, with Handong brushing her fur with her hand.

Oh, god, why was she looking at her like that? No, don’t overthink this! But she was giving _the eyes_ … Was she leaning in?! No, she couldn’t be! Her eyes were deceiving her!

She must divert this situation!

She turned her camera on again, making sure of all of the settings, and pointed towards them.

“Can I…?” She asked with a sheepish smile.

Handong nodded and looked down, still petting the puppy. Peace settled into the room, melting away all of the energy that filled it, left with a feeling of coziness and relaxation. She took one picture, able to see Pie’s sleeping face and Handong’s smile. It was the perfect warm time of the late-afternoon, with the sunlight warming up the room with its yellow hue.

She was _definitely_ keeping that one.

“I guess it’s time to go…” Yoohyeon said, placing her camera on the coffee table.

“She’ll be sleeping very well tonight.” Handong said as she stood up and placed Pie in her bed, still smiling big.

“Thank you for today; I had a great time!”

“I had a great time too. How soon can we have another date?”

“Next Saturday would be great! Or is that too soon? We could do next, next Saturday!”

Handong chuckled, the two now by the front door, “Next Saturday it is. It’s your turn to choose where we go.”

“Right, that’s fair! I can’t wait.” Yoohyeon opened the door. “Drive safe.”

“I will.”

Handong started going in closer to her, an inviting grin on her face and _very obviously_ going to kiss her right now.

Oh god, oh god, OH GOD—

Yoohyeon pulled her into a tight hug instead, awkwardly chuckling. She hugged her back, awkwardly laughing too.

“See you tomorrow at lunch?” Yoohyeon felt her face go warm as she looked at her again.

“Yeah, see you tomorrow.” Handong nodded, a slight smirk from Yoohyeon’s dodge.

She then left, leaving Yoohyeon in her embarrassment.

What the fuck?! Why didn’t she kiss her?! She was right there and she was the one going in first!

Yoohyeon pinched the bridge of her nose, heavily exhaling in annoyance at herself.

Before the brunette could even begin to think about how goddamn amazing the day was, her phone started to vibrate in her pocket.

Bora was calling. It was as if she _knew_!

She groaned, slouching as she looked at the extreme closeup photo of the purple-haired woman. The urge to decline was strong.

But alas, she pressed the green icon and, before she could bring it to her ear, Bora’s loud voice _blared_ through, yelling and screaming gibberish.

“How the fuck did you know that she left just now?!”

“Oh, she left?! Fantastic, now you can tell me everything!”

Yoohyeon cursed under her breath.

Great…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ill see yall tomorrow! :)


	4. Chapter 4

“Did you really have to send that picture to Gahyeon, Yoohyeon?!”

“I thought that was a wonderful picture for your girlfriend to see! She loved it!”

“Yeah, I know! She laughed so hard, she cried!”

It’d been a week since her date with Handong. After bravely hanging up on Bora when she called, the scary woman showed up at her door when it struck ten p.m. and she had _no choice_ but to tell her! Then, it moved along to the rest.

For constantly bothering her and telling her to just ask Handong to be her girlfriend already, she took Siyeon’s twentieth birthday picture, downloaded it from her camera, and then sent it to Gahyeon with no context.

As for Yubin, she tried to find a funny picture like Siyeon's, but they were just so photogenic, they looked really attractive in every photo they were in!

It was pretty fucking unfair, really!

Instead, she found a photo where they looked and acted cute. They were usually a pensive person, which was quite the opposite of Bora. However, they had their moments of being playful!

A lovely memory Yoohyeon forgot was when they all impulsively bought onesies and had a fun little party in their apartment with them on. Yubin was in a cow onesie and they were the most into it of the three, doing kissy faces to the camera and using all kinds of plushies and props to add to their cuteness. It was a rare level of cuteness their wife just _needed_ to see.

“Bora wants me to wear that onesie again,” Yubin said, pushing their short, black hair back. “She said she’ll wear her Pikachu one with me, so I guess it’s not all bad.”

“Gahyeon made my picture her phone background…”

Handong ended up being busy for the weekend, got called in for multiple appointments for bigger pieces, so they had to reschedule. Yoohyeon was relieved for that; She hadn’t come up with where they should go for their date…

Okay, and she forgot to pick where to go.

Therefore, she sat with her best friends in InSomnia Bar, a casual, chill jazz bar to grab a pint or two together. Except for Yubin, who was going to be the driver.

“Siyeon, at least she's not using it for blackmail!” Yoohyeon reasoned.

“You kind of used it as punishment, though,” Yubin said, “for bothering the hell out of you about Handong.”

“Which we’re sorry about!” Siyeon almost spilt all of her beer onto the table. “Please tell me you don’t have any more pictures like that.”

“Maybe… Maybe not.”

“Yoohyeon.”

“Okay, okay. No, that’s the most embarrassing one, I swear.”

“But there are more embarrassing ones…?”

“Oh yeah, definitely!”

Siyeon reached over and placed her hand on her shoulder. “Yoohyeon.”

Her touch felt gentle, as was her voice, but she felt the _threat_. She felt the underlying threat to her if she were to send another photo.

“I won’t send them, I promise!”

“Alright, Siyeon, stop.” Yubin patted her back, making the blonde woman let her go. “But I have a suggestion to make, Yoohyeon.”

“Yeah?”

“Bora and I want to do a triple date.”

“Triple date?”

“Yeah, me and Bora, Siyeon and Gahyeon, and then you can invite Handong.”

“A group date already?”

“It’s mostly Bora’s idea. She wants to meet her, officially this time, and see if she’s worthy enough to date you.”

“She’s just too… motherly, sometimes. I don't know if Handong would be okay with a group date already.”

“Just bring the idea up to her. Just know that we're all open to it.”

It sounded like a great idea _in theory_. However, they were going to be ruthless! Yoohyeon could see it in her head already with all the endless roasts towards Yoohyeon and questions towards Handong. Especially Bora, whose motherly instincts were starting to come up to the surface.

“I'll call her when she's out of work," Yoohyeon then chuckled, wanting to change the subject. "Looking at those pictures really took me back. Remember when we first moved into that apartment?"

"How could I forget?" Siyeon took a short sip of her beer. "Oh God, when we got that new couch! You know, the one after that old jacked up one? Took forever to get that new one in there!"

“It was the nicest one!”

“It was also the heaviest shit I've ever had to lift in my life!”

“Not to mention it was really stiff too,” Yubin mentioned. “Not going to lie, once it was soft, it was so comfortable, I wanted to take it for me and Bora.”

“Excuse me—”

In that same second, the brunette’s phone started vibrating in her pocket. She reached in to look at the ID and a photo of Handong with her gray cat, Nannan, was on her screen. She was lying down on her stomach next to him, but he wasn’t looking at the camera. He was looking off to the left. The red-haired woman sent a lot of photos, but this one was the cutest!

She lifted a finger to her lips to tell her friends to be quiet.

“Hey, you just got off of work?” Yoohyeon turned away from them to talk.

… And to hide the big smile on her face.

“Yeah, I’m really tired, but I wanted to hear you. I’m sorry that it was so busy that we couldn’t go on a date today.”

“It’s fine! There’s always another day. I’m hanging out with friends, at a bar, drinking a little.”

“That’s good! Then, I better let you go—”

“No, actually, I need to talk to you! Speaking of friends… Yubin proposed something and I wanted to ask if you’re okay with it.”

“Yeah, what is it?”

“Uh, it’s mostly Bora, but all of my friends are okay with doing a triple date. Would you be okay with that?”

A few seconds of silence pass, leaving Yoohyeon with bouncing her knee and chewing on her lower lip.

“That sounds great! I like that a lot.”

The brunette released a breath of relief, “Great! I’ll let my friends know and I’ll text you. Or talk about it on Monday, whichever one. Anyway, I don’t want to keep you up any longer. Please get a goodnight’s rest, Handong.”

“I will; I’m so tired from today…” She yawned on the other side of the phone. Yoohyeon had to hold back a giggle from how cute it sounded. “And you better not get too drunk.”

She sheepishly laughed, “I’ve been told I don’t hold my alcohol all that good, so I won’t. Besides, I have my friends here to take me home.”

“Alright, good. I’ll see you on Monday.”

“See you on Monday. Bye.”

After hanging up, she turned back to her friends, who were both looking at her with expecting gazes and goofy grins.

“She said she likes that idea a lot!”

“Cheers to that then!” Siyeon took her pint and held it up, ready to clink her glass.

* * *

“Minji, I’m losing it,” Yoohyeon said while arranging a display, fixing the orange and blue flowers in pretty bundles. It was the evening, close to the end of their work day.

“No, I don’t think so. This bouquet you’re making is very pretty.”

The brunette chuckled, “Thanks, but I mean with Handong. Well, nothing’s wrong between us! She’s about to meet my friends for a group date and it’s all swell! I really, really want to be her girlfriend…”

“Are you losing it because you like her a lot?”

“I’m losing it because…” Yoohyeon sighed, lowering her voice. “Handong was going to kiss me and then I hugged her instead.”

The pink-haired woman stifled a laugh. Looking at her, Minji was pressing her lips together, failing to suppress her smile.

“Minji!”

“Sorry! That’s completely normal, Yoohyeon! You don’t have to kiss right away!”

“My friends would beg to differ, which is why I’m telling you! I want to kiss her; I just freaked out!”

“Then, kiss her! You’ve kissed people before, haven’t you?”

“Of course, I have! It’s different with her… I’ve never liked anyone as much as I liked her!”

“You’re such a cute thing, Yoohyeon.”

“Agreed.”

Yoohyeon nearly broke her spine from how fast she spun around to the voice.

God damn Minji and opening the door because it was a beautiful day outside! Hopefully she didn't hear _all_ of that…

“Dongdong!” She greeted, a slight skip in her step. “You’re here! Are you done with work?”

Yoohyeon’s eyes traveled down for a moment, seeing she was dressed in her usual black tanktop and jeans. She was attractive enough with her face; Yoohyeon was proud of herself for not fully passing out whenever she saw her.

Granted, she would’ve been dead _days_ ago.

“Started my shift early and wanted to see you before I head home. Is this what you do at the end of the day? Rearranging the shop?”

“Pretty much! Organizing, watering, just keeping them nice and healthy!” She just so happened to be holding an orange tulip in her hands.

She’ll pay for it later.

She thrusted her hands forward, “For you.”

Handong smiled and took it. “Why, thank you. It’s very pretty.”

“Like you…” She cleared her throat. “So…”

“So…?”

That was easy to get used to. It was nice to have their own ‘thing’ between them. “The triple date! You said you were okay with it, right?”

“Yeah, it sounds fun! What are we going to do, exactly?”

“Arcades, museums, or dinner—maybe stuff like that! You’re not nervous about meeting them, right?”

“It may be hard to believe, but I am a rather shy person. Honestly, I am nervous. I hope I make a good impression on them.”

“You’re right, that is hard to believe, considering you casually came up to me and called me babe.”

“Felt braver that day.”

Yoohyeon’s cheeks burned, surely pink and bright. And it was, judging by the giggling Handong was doing, lifting her hand to her mouth.

“Yoohyeon!” Minji’s voice took her out of her spiral. “You can head home for the day.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, I can finish up here! You worked hard today; You can get some more rest for tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Yoohyeon was a little confused, “thanks, Minji! I’ll see you in the morning!”

“Then, do you want me to drop you off at your place then, Yoohyeon?” Handong asked.

Does she even have to ask?!

“Sure! I’ll pick your car over the bus any day!”

After quick farewells, the two left the flower shop, heading across the street.

“I’ll actually leave this at work, if that’s okay. Nannan can sometimes knock things down when he feels like being… extra not nice.”

“That’s fine! I kind of want to go into the parlor anyway. It was so cool inside the last time I went!”

“It won’t take long. I can find a vase or something for my work space.”

Walking into the shop, Yoohyeon was hit with the smell of cleaning products. It still looked the same as when she last visited—shiny wooden flooring, black walls with hundreds of artworks and examples of smaller tattoos, various stations with lounging black leather chairs, and that skeleton model with its arms spread and wearing a black cloak hanging on the wall. They had some customers, one getting a tattoo on their back and another on their arm.

“I’ll be right back, okay?” Handong said, already walking passed the front counter.

“Okay,” Yoohyeon replied simply, sitting down on the leather couch in the waiting area.

Being inside, she was genuinely considering getting a tattoo. Not a good thing to have impulsive urges for, but she’d been wanting a new one! She hadn’t thought of one that she was confident in getting yet. It was easy to get lost in thoughts like these. Imagining what tattoo would look nice, where they'd go, though those thoughts end once she reminded herself that she didn't know what she _exactly_ wanted.

“Hey pretty thing, looking to get tatted today?” Handong was at the counter, leaning on her arms and resting her head on her hand.

Oh no… Not the voice…

No, Yoohyeon could do this! She was playing with her; She had to play back!

“Only if it’s you putting it on me.” She stood up and leaned on the table, getting a little _too_ close, but she couldn’t back away.

“It would be my pleasure.”

“Thinking about getting another one on my ribs.”

“‘Another one?’” The red-haired woman’s brows lifted, intrigue in her eyes as she smirked. “You’re a brave one; Those hurt a lot.”

“I don’t think I’ll mind with you—”

“Sorry to cut that short, but,” Handong’s coworker raised her voice, stopping her work to speak, “just because you’re not on the clock, that doesn’t mean you get to flirt in here, Dong!”

“Sorry, Xiaoyun!” Handong leaned back.

Yoohyeon’s face felt like it was shoved into a hot fireplace. She hadn’t noticed how close they got until she pulled back! The only noise she had in her head was her own screaming, yelling at herself for somehow managing to _not_ die.

How did she even do that?! Where did _that_ Yoohyeon even come from?!

“Okay, okay, let’s get you home, Yoohyeon.”

Now would be a good time to ask her to stay around for a bit longer… Handong wanted to have dinner together anyway! All she had to do was ask.

“H—Hey, uh… Dongdong?” She spoke as soon as they left the parlor.

“Yes?”

“Do… D—Do you want to, uh… maybe have dinner… together?” Yoohyeon finally got the words out, internally giving herself a pat on the back. “There’s this cool pizza place we could go to! Eat a few slices, share an ice cream sundae, then you can take me home!”

Handong chuckled, not answering just yet. The brunette was left in suspense as she waited for it, nibbling on her lower lip and fidgeting with her fingers.

It wasn’t until they entered the car that she responded, “I’d like that. Just tell me the way.”

Yoohyeon was internally freaking the hell out, but she had to keep it in. She embarrassed herself _enough_.

The ride was short, but it felt long to her, unable to get her smile to go away. As she was giving directions, she looked goofy the entire way. It was a small place, with a brick interior with the pizza in a glass display and red booths.

“How was your day today?” Yoohyeon asked as she opened the door for Handong.

“Had someone pass out today,” Handong airily chuckled after. “When we get first timers, it’s always fun to bet what kind they’ll be. Pass out, cry, groan, or, rarely, perfectly fine.”

“How were you during yours?”

“I was fine! The placement didn’t hurt at all. What about you? Is your rib tattoo your first?”

“That’s the one! It hurt a lot!”

“I commend you for choosing a painful spot for your first.” She then smirked. “Good job back in the parlor. But I was serious—It’d be my pleasure to tattoo you.”

“And I… I’d like that a lot.”

It was a pretty fast purchase, getting two slices of pepperoni pizza each and two sodas. After a minor (playful) argument, Handong was the one paying for the sundae for later.

“Pie should be napping right now. Does Nannan ever get lonely when you’re out?” Yoohyeon asked as they sat down in a booth.

“No, I honestly think he prefers being alone,” Handong replied with a laugh. “He’s nice when he wants to be! When he lets me hug and carry him, I savor each second.”

“Is it safe to say that the cat on your chest is Nannan?”

“You’re exactly correct.” Handong nodded, then took a bite of pizza.

“Do you think any of your friends will walk in?” She asked after swallowing.

The brunette shushed her, “Don’t speak it into existence! That would be too crazy, but I think they won’t show up this time.”

“After that run in with Bora and Yubin, are you confident in saying that?”

Yoohyeon bit her lower lip as she sipped her drink. She took a moment to pause before saying, “Good point… We should eat faster.”

“Oh, now you don’t want to be with me anymore?”

“Dongdong, no! I just…” Instead of answering, Yoohyeon took a bigger bite of her pizza slice.

The red-haired woman laughed and went on with her food.

It was little talk afterwards about their shared interest in learning languages and how Handong enjoyed baking sweets and learning recipes in her free time. Yoohyeon wasn’t surprised she liked languages, considering she did move from a different country. The brunette was happy that someone would listen to her ramble about it! And they made a promise that they’ll bake something together in the future.

Then, she saw them in the corner.

Not just Bora and Yubin.

Not just Siyeon and Gahyeon.

Not just any of them by themselves.

It was _all four of them_.

No…

The brunette wanted to ignore them, but with Bora’s loud, _loud_ voice, along with Siyeon and Gahyeon entertaining her and laughing with her… it was _impossible_ to do!

“Yoohyeon?!” Gahyeon called out.

Oh no.

“Hey! You guys!” Yoohyeon dried her mouth and hands of pizza grease. “What a crazy coincidence!”

“It is!”

Rather than any of them staying in line for food, they headed straight for her table.

Well… How could they possibly stay when Handong was _there_?

“Then, um…” Yoohyeon’s voice was not confident. When she stood up, Handong also stood up. “This is Handong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> last chapter on thursday!


	5. Chapter 5

“It's so nice to finally meet you, Handong!” Gahyeon hurried in first to greet Handong. She shocked her when she went right in with a hug, though it reciprocated after a few seconds.

Everyone wanted to get in on the greetings, going straight to her to hug and ask her question upon question.

“Can’t tell if your timing is lucky or unlucky,” Yoohyeon said as she approached Yubin, who was standing off behind the group.

“Hey, at least we can have our triple date,” they replied. “I’d say this is lucky timing!”

“I… guess? You guys didn’t want to go to any other restaurant?”

“Siyeon and Gahyeon invited us. Bora and I had time and wanted to spend time with them, so now we’re here. We actually finished work early and Bora took me to the animal shelter. She’s being very direct about getting a dog.”

“She’s having puppy fever from dogsitting Pie!” She made them laugh at that. “Do you want to be dog parents with her, Yubin?”

“I would love to. Still trying to convince her to get an older dog and not a puppy.”

"Older dogs are still puppies, though."

“Alright, we should go get our food!” Bora announced, “We have lots to talk about, Handong!”

Bora and Gahyeon stayed with Yoohyeon and Handong, with the red-haired woman sitting between them, leaving Yoohyeon alone across from them.

“We should wait until the food should get here, no?” Handong suggested, looking back and forth between the two women.

“Not necessarily,” Bora answered almost too quickly. “I want to learn about you and see if you’re right for our big tree! That little meeting at the museum wasn’t enough time to see that, you know?”

“You’re right about that… She had explaining to do after hearing she thought of me as the ‘cool and sexy redhead.’”

“Is there really anything to explain?!” Yoohyeon wanted to be included, but her two friends kept their focus on Handong.

“Anyway,” Bora blatantly ignored her, “can I call you Dongie?”

“Uh, sure, that’s fine.”

“What do you think of Yoohyeon, Dongie? How do you feel about her?”

“And don’t hold back on the details!” Gahyeon added.

Handong chuckled, looking at Yoohyeon. The brunette was nervous to hear what she thought. She knew she had good things to say! Maybe it was a mix of both hearing it from Handong herself and getting to see the reaction of her friends.

Yoohyeon’s knee was bouncing under their table, waiting and waiting for her reply.

“Well, I like her a lot,” Handong said. “She’s really nice, funny, easy to talk to,” she looked towards Yoohyeon with a teasing smirk, “easy to make fun of.”

Of course, that was an endearing quality in her eyes.

“But I really do like her! Very pretty, very kind, and I like being around her.” There was a small chorus of ‘aw’, until she said, “Too shy, though. She hugged me when I wanted to kiss her.”

“What?!” The two erupted with questions being thrown at the tall woman.

“Are you kidding?!”

“Yoohyeon, why would you do that?!”

“How could you do that?!”

Yoohyeon tried to retaliate, “It was the first date!”

“So what?!” Bora raised her voice even more. “You can’t talk about how much you like her and then not kiss her!”

“Just give me a break!” She whined, her cheeks burning hot. “We… will.”

“That’s enough then,” Handong placed her hand on Bora's shoulder. “No more poking fun at the big tree.”

“Thank yo—Hey!”

“What are we talking about over here?” Siyeon asked, setting down a plate of fried chicken and a drink.

“Yoohyeon hugged her instead of kissing her at the end of their date,” Bora replied.

Siyeon gasped, absolutely _appalled_ , “Yoohyeon, I never thought…”

The brunette had nothing to retaliate with, grabbing a chicken drumstick instead.

“I believe I should learn something about you all too,” Handong said, grabbing her soda to sip from the straw. “Don’t you all think that’s fair?”

The table fell silent. Yoohyeon raised her eyebrows. Seemed like they were only expecting to be asking all of the questions. She felt _relieved_! She could relax and eat while listening to them recall the journeys of their relationships.

“I’m curious about all of you and your relationships as well. Why don’t we start with you, Bora and Yubin? The married couple, right?”

“The college sweethearts…” Siyeon mumbled before sipping from her drink.

Bora shot a stern glance at her before turning back to Handong, saying, “It was the first day of my final year and I saw a cute person in baggy clothes with a book-shaped backpack! How can I resist that?!"

"I'm glad my book backpack captured your attention." Yubin said, but their smile was teasing.

"It was your cute face that got my attention, but sure, it was your backpack. When classes were over, maybe or maybe not I searched for them on campus! And then I found out they were a freshman."

"Is that a bad thing?" Handong raised her brow.

"Well, no, I just never imagined I could ever be attracted to a freshman! They are always so annoying! Not Yubin, though…" Bora's cheeks then went pink. "I spoke to them and gave them the excuse of wanting to show them around the campus. That was all I needed to do! Even though they were a Music Production major and I did Dance, we still saw each other all the time!"

"You mean, you went into the Music Production building and visited me, then asked to hang out."

"We hung out until the morning, Yubin! Remember?"

"Of course, I do! You lived by yourself, so we were able to hang out all the time. And then, when you graduated, you let me live with you."

"Sounds like you didn't really like her in the beginning, Yubin." Handong turned her head to them.

"Oh, no, I liked her already. Liked her a lot. But she's obviously the type of person that lives and thrives off of people falling at her feet."

"I've never had to try so hard in my life to get someone to fall in love with me!" Bora ended that sentence with a laugh. "They were very good at playing hard to get! It only took a year, but I finally got them!"

"And how did you do that, my wife? I can't seem to recall."

"Oh, shut up, you. Okay, I invited them to watch me do a dance I was making for one of my classes! I didn't have any ulterior motives about inviting them, even though I liked them a lot at the time. But the way they were sitting in one of the chairs in the studio…"

"Just say you sat on their lap and asked them on a date like that already," Siyeon kept teasing, making the others snicker.

"I just got there! Actually, I lied down on top of them and asked them out for a movie and dinner, get it right! They were leaning so far back on the chair and I couldn't resist!" Bora declared the love story so confidently, Yubin was casually sipping from their soda as if lying down on top of someone to ask them on a date was a normal thing to do. "So, we dated for three years and now we're married!"

"Who proposed?" Handong asked.

"I did," Yubin replied. "When Bora and I talked about it, I said I would. I was able to get a good job right away to buy her a nice ring. We didn't wait long in getting married; We wanted to as soon as we can."

"Oh, yes, Yoohyeon showed me photos from your gothic vampire wedding."

"And it was the best! The best idea we've ever had!" Bora clapped her hands. "And that's it for us! Siyeon and Gahyeon has a great story to tell too!"

“It’s not that spectacular.” Siyeon shrugged.

“We met at the gym and she was very tired,” Gahyeon said with a big grin like it was a fond memory. “I love it when you can tell it’s someone’s first time on a treadmill.”

“It wasn’t my first time!” She paused, making the group go quiet with her. “It was my first time in a while…”

“I didn’t have pilates, but I still wanted to exercise, so I decided to go and she was there! She was the only one there and I found her very cute. How could I not talk to her?”

“Me lying down on the floor, out of breath and sweating my ass off, was cute to you?”

“Adorable! It’s exactly how I imagined meeting my future girlfriend.”

Siyeon was trying to act tough, but it was impossible, huffing as her cheeks started to blush. She cleared her throat, saying, “We didn’t start talking right away, though! We only had small talk, using the treadmills next to each other.”

“You weren’t that talkative then, Siyeon. That’s all you wanted to do.”

“Something about a pretty, purple-haired woman coming up to talk to me renders me speechless.”

“We’re just full of pickup lines tonight,” Handong pointed out.

“They’re always full of pickup lines.” Yoohyeon had been cringing from where she was sitting for the entirety of everyone explaining their relationship.

Not in a ‘want to barf’ way, but in a ‘oh, my god, get me away from here’ way.

“As we were saying!” Gahyeon raised her voice. “However, Siyeon was blind to my flirting. She didn’t really notice how much I was hitting on her.”

“I remember that,” Yubin decided to pitch in. “Siyeon would explain to me and Yoohyeon about you and what you say and she swore, on her life, that you were just really friendly.”

“Me asking if you were single and then asking if you wanted to have dinner together after was me being friendly?”

“Well, sure!” Siyeon obviously wanted someone on her side, but Gahyeon was so clear, it was amazing to see her so blind from it. “It could’ve been just two random questions! I can’t assume right away that a girl is romantically interested!”

“I don’t know, Siyeon, I feel like even Yoohyeon would be able to catch that hint!” Bora laughed _way_ too loudly.

It was just 'Clown Yoohyeon Night'…

“Once I got the hint, though, I was flirting every minute!”

Gahyeon giggling, “It felt nice.”

"See? Now, it's fair and I know about your relationships too."

"I really liked talking about it, actually!" Bora then leaned onto her partner next to her, smiling at each other.

The atmosphere was finally light, comfortable as a casual conversation picked up, focusing on Handong and had steered away from romance. It wasn’t new information to Yoohyeon. After all, she did say ‘that was really it.’ The food was finally being eaten, comfort and familiarity began to build around them.

Yoohyeon’s eyes looked at her periodically, watching her comfortably talk to her friend group.

She could finally relax for a bit.

* * *

“It was very nice meeting you, Handong,” Siyeon said as the group all stood outside, having finished their meals and left the establishment.

“We should hang out sometime!” Gahyeon said while giving the red-haired woman an embrace. “Like spend lunch together!”

“I’d love to,” Handong patted her back. “How about dinner instead?”

“Oh, even better. You have my number now, so just say when.”

After sharing a laugh together, with Siyeon latching onto Gahyeon so they could go home quicker, the couple left.

“It’s only Monday, so we better get home,” Yubin said, smiling at their wife as she latched onto their arm.

“You should stay overnight with her though, Dongie.” Bora wiggled her brows at her, smirking.

“No…” Yoohyeon drawled shyly, standing behind Handong. “If you all have to go home, then she has to go home too. Being a tattoo artist and tired is not a good mix, you know. And she has a cat at home—wouldn’t want him alone all night.”

“Up all night together, I see how it is.”

“Stop!” Yoohyeon playfully slapped the Bora's shoulder. “It’s been fun and all, thank you for the food, goodnight!”

The brunette released a heavy sigh of relief, watching the couple go to their car, finally able to breathe normally.

"Did you like them, Dongdong?"

"They're great! Kind of loud, but they're fun. I'd love to hang out with them again like this, if they'd like to."

"Oh, yeah, they'll definitely want another triple date later on!"

The drive to Yoohyeon's apartment was short and only talking about the date. Yoohyeon wasn't worried about anything, speaking casually and fully relaxed, holding Handong's hand as they walked to her apartment door.

"Can I ask you something, Yoohyeon?"

Oh no.

"Sure, what's up?" She tried to keep her tone relaxed, but she was freaking the _fuck out_ inside.

"Did you really go to the park just to read?"

"Huh?"

"Did you really just go to the park to read? Only to read?"

"Uh, yeah! I just stay in my apartment and go to work! I use the park to walk Pie too!"

"Is that all?"

Yoohyeon gulped, averting her eyes a few times, looking down at the dark-colored carpet and the ceiling lights. Anything but _her_.

Handong had a little smile, patiently waiting for an answer.

She wasn’t going to keep it to herself forever, wasn’t she?

“I…” Yoohyeon accepted defeat, “I wanted to see you.”

The red-haired woman hummed and nodded.

She found her reaction… strange. She expected her to be weirded out, or even creeped out, by doing that!

Unless…

Yoohyeon slumped her shoulders, whining, “Don’t tell me…”

“Tell you what?” Her smile turned into a sly one.

“Did you notice me?”

Handong nodded, humming while doing so. “I just wanted to hear you say it.”

“When?”

“You’re not very subtle, Yoohyeon,” Handong replied. “I draw there, so I’m looking at everything! You always sat close enough to recognize you! Like I said, you’re pretty, so pretty that I remembered your face.”

“You were just watching me too?”

“No, but I made sure I drew you in every sketch.”

“We found each other pretty and neither of us did anything.”

The two women shyly chuckled together, both now awkwardly looking around. Yoohyeon tucked her hair behind her ear, her cheeks starting to hurt from her smile and the heat rising to them.

Okay, this was it! This was the right moment! Just lean in and plant one on her!

She stood in place, slightly swaying her foot against the floor.

“I guess this is where we…”

Handong nodded, taking a step closer. Her smile. The way she placed her hands on the brunette’s waist.

She was frozen, now feeling her extreme nervousness all over again.

Right! Just right there! Just for one second! Maybe two! Just do it!

Out of pure panic, Yoohyeon cupped her cheeks and planted a quick peck, barely lasting a second and barely tasting anything from her lips. She caught that they were soft, though; They were worthy of another one.

“Uh, you wouldn’t want our first kiss to taste like pizza and fried chicken, right?” Yoohyeon asked with a giggle.

“No, you’re right about that.”

Deep breath. Her smile was still there, that was good!

“So…”

“So…?”

“Does this mean we’re girlfriends now?”

Without warning, Handong placed another quick peck, nodding afterwards.

“Good—I mean, great! That’s cool! This is awesome! I finally get to call you my girlfriend and we can kiss more! We can go out and call them dates for real!”

“And we can stay over at each other’s places,” Handong added, putting her hands down to her side again.

"But it's Monday. You should be home and be with Nannan."

"Each other's places, Yoohyeon." She repeated. "You can grab your things and Pie and you can stay with me tonight. I'll walk you to work and all that girlfriend stuff."

Yoohyeon was biting on her lower lip so hard, she could bite right through. It was doing nothing to stop the smile on her face. Handong was hard to resist and, as much as she wanted to say no, that answer wasn't on her mind.

It was then her phone rings and, unsurprisingly, it was Bora.

She didn't want to talk to her _now_.

"You know what," Yoohyeon declined the call, "I'd love to meet your cat and stay over for tonight."

"Happy to hear that."

Yoohyeon hurried into her apartment and gathered the stuff she'll need for her overnight stay, along with helping Pie get into her carrier bag. She'll have to be careful with an older cat and a young dog under the same roof, but they'll be able to handle it. Besides, Handong said he liked being alone! He won't be going near them!

"Let's go," the brunette said after locking her apartment door. "Pie won't be able to stay in this carrier long. She's so happy to see you!"

"Alright, let's get going then."

Handong grabbed her hand and they went down the hall and down the elevator.

"So…"

"So…?"

Yoohyeon chuckled, giving her hand a quick squeeze. "Will I… be seeing that rose tattoo soon?"

Handong hummed, a smirk on her lips, "Not in front of the fur babies… You're a step closer, though."

After she sent her a wink, Yoohyeon giggled, turning away.

"I'll work my way up!"

"I sure hope you do."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and the end 💚  
> tbh yall…………… this may or may not be the last fic ill write for dc.. i enjoyed writing them dont get me wrong but…… theyre obviously real people and i feel i shouldnt be writing them as if theyre just characters anymore… could change my mind or stay away from the shipping part of it i dunno yet 🤕  
> ill admit i have a different kind of royalty au for Suayeon Rare Pair™ to make up for the other one.. i could push through that one mayhaps  
> anyway thanks yall for reading and commenting (and merry chrysler to whoever celebrates it) 💚💚💚


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